Marco Paul's Voyages and Travels; Vermont eBook

Marco contrived to paddle with his pole, so as to
overtake the cap and recover it. Then he went
to the shore and landed. He drew up the boat
as high as he could, and went back to seek the other
boys. He concluded that it was time to go home.
His conscience now began to reproach him with the
wrong which he had been doing. His promised pleasure
had failed. His clothes were wet and uncomfortable.
His mind was anxious and unhappy. With a heavy
heart he began to retrace his steps, sure of detection
when he reached home, and of punishment. He did
not, however, dread the punishment so much as the just
displeasure which his cousin would manifest, and the
evidence of the pain which he knew his cousin would
suffer, when he came to learn how his pupil had betrayed
the confidence which had been reposed in him.
Before he set out for home, however, he took off such
of his clothes as were most wet, and wrung out the
water as well as he could, and then put them on again.

When he drew near to the house, he expected to see
his uncle still at work, but he was not there.
Marco reconnoitered the place carefully, and then
went into the office. His uncle was not in the
office. He passed through into the study.
He was afraid that Forester would be there, but, to
his surprise and joy, he was not, and there was no
sign that he had been there since the morning.
Marco looked at the watch, and found that it was only
about half-past eleven. So he took down a volume
of the Encyclopedia and began to read. He read
the article canoe, and he found some information
about the bark canoes made by Indians, but nothing
about log canoes. In about fifteen minutes he
heard the office door open, and his cousin Forester
came in. Forester walked into the study, but
said nothing to Marco. Marco kept at his work,
without speaking to his cousin. He began to hope
that he might yet escape. His only fear now was
lest his wet clothes should be observed. He put
his hand down many times to his knees, to ascertain
how fast they were drying. The clothes that he
wore were of woolen, and of a dark color, so that
they did not show the wet very distinctly, and, besides,
the sun and the air were warm that day, and the clothes
had dried fast. In a word, when twelve o’clock
arrived and Marco put his books away, nobody would
have observed that his clothes had been wet.
He ran about in the open air until dinner-time, and
though, when he went in to dinner, he felt oppressed
with a sense of guilt and of self-condemnation, he
was satisfied that no one suspected him. Marco
thought that he had had a very lucky escape.

Chapter VII.

A Dilemma.

Though Marco’s first feeling was that of relief,
to find that he had got back from his truancy without
detection, he felt, after all, ill at ease. He
kept out of sight till the dinner-bell rang, and then
he was almost afraid to go in, for fear that, by some
accident or other, his uncle might have noticed his
absence, and might ask him something about it.
He was usually much interested at dinner-time in talking
with Forester about plans for the afternoon; but now
he felt guilty and afraid, and he was disinclined
to look his uncle or his cousin in the face, or to
speak a word.